SAN LEANDRO — The San Leandro High football team will face its toughest task of the season tonight against powerhouse De La Salle — winner of 13 straight North Coast Section titles.

The No. 3 Pirates will take on No. 1 De La Salle for the fifth time in the past seven years in the NCS 4-A final at Oakland’s McAfee Coliseum. Kickoff is 7:15.

“I am very excited,” Pirates quarterback Scottie Cordier said. “It is the championship game, and we are playing one of the best teams in the nation and the best team in the state. It is going to be a good one. I can’t wait until (tonight).”

De La Salle has owned the Pirates in the past four championship games, defeating San Leandro by an average score of 44-14. The closest score was 38-14 in 1999.

This year’s De La Salle team features a lot of the same strengths of previous powerhouses. The Spartans can do it all and proved it again in last week’s 42-14 win over Foothill in the semifinals.

Sophomore quarterback Mike MacGillivray was 7-for-11 for 216 yards and two touchdowns, and the Spartans ran for 240 yards. The Spartans average 243.8 yards on the ground.

But the Pirates have one of the best run-stop defenses in the Bay Area, allowing just 73.8 yards per game.

“The strong suit of our team this year has been run defense,” Pirates coach Brad Bowers said. “It gives us a bit of confidence knowing (running the ball) is what De La Salle does, and (stopping the run) is what we do. We are excited about the challenge of taking on De La Salle’s running game.”

But Bowers understands the Spartans can also pass. In the playoffs, MacGillivray is 10-for-14 for 375 yards and three touchdowns.

“A lot of teams will go to sleep on them thinking De La Salle doesn’t have a passing game,” Bowers said. “That is never the case. They just run the ball so well that they hardly need to use their passing game.”Spartans coach Bob Ladouceur said he didn’t plan any specific offensive strategy.

“We just have to wait and see how (San Leandro) is going to defend us,” Ladouceur said.

The Pirates have a specific plan on defense.

“We are going to try to stop the run and force them to pass,” Bowers said. “If we can dictate the game that way, it will be beneficial for us.”

Ladouceur thinks these Pirates might be the best of the four San Leandro teams De La Salle has faced in the final.

“I think this team has more weapons on it,” Ladouceur said. “They have more guys that can hurt you.”

One of those guys is Cordier, who has hurt teams with his arm and his feet. Against Monte Vista in the NCS semifinals, Cordier was 9 of 10 passing for 217 yards and three touchdowns. He also carried the ball seven times for 53 yards, including a 21-yard score.

“I don’t think you can do a lot to stop (Cordier),” Ladouceur said. “He just makes things happen. He will take a bad situation and turn it into a touchdown. That is the kind of athlete he is.”

Bowers is confident his team is ready to end the 13-year De La Salle streak.

“They are ready and willing and able to step up to that challenge,” Bowers said. “It is something they have been dreaming about for years now. Everybody in the Bay Area dreams about trying to challenge De La Salle and ending that streak.”